Haunted by the Echo of Silence
by amourdemavie39
Summary: Keller apparently was not finished. * WARNING MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH * Please see inside! Not you thing, do not read. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

Hello, again! I am taking a break from my other story, to write this story. The idea popped into my head when I was listening to the radio on my way home from sports practice.

Here are the lyrics; the song is _This is Country Music by Brad Paisley_. No, this is not a song fic.

_Are you haunted by the echo of your mother on the phone  
Crying as she tells you that your brother is not coming home?  
And if there's anyone that still has pride and the memory of those that died defending the old red, white, and blue,  
This is country music and we do. _

********WARNING MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH! NOT YOUR THING, DO NOT READ!** *******

For those who have chosen to continue, enjoy the story!

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"Go home Neal." Peter said, his voice weary, and quiet.

Neal looked up at him with those deep blue eyes of his, and it told Peter that he was not budging.

"I want to nail that son of a bitch, Keller. I am tired of his damn games!" Neal did not swear often, so he must have been really pissed off. His blue eyes flashed with anger, like a stormy ocean.

"I want him behind bars as much as the next guy, but it's late. Go home, and sleep. Okay? Neal, go home. Come on, I am right behind you." He herded the young man out of his office with his right hand.

He mumbled something inaudible when the agent's back was turned.

Neal walked out of Peter's office, with anger boiling around in his stomach. His aching head told him that there was nothing that he wanted more than to lie down and sleep, possibly until the end of the century. But Neal could not let the thought of Keller go. He had gone away too easily. That was so unlike him. Keller was the type of man who had would have had everything planned out. Dropping off the face of the earth, was not his style.

Nonetheless, Neal placed his black fedora atop his chocolate curls, and walked out of the front doors of the FBI.

Peter met him at the door, coat in hand, and the pair boarded the elevator.

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The car ride home was filled with silence. Peter could see that Neal did not want to talk about Keller anymore, so he left the topic alone. He allowed Neal to fiddle with all of the buttons, just to avoid another awkward conversation. Truth be told, Peter had wanted to stay in the office and find Keller, but the men needed their sleep, and Elizabeth needed her loving husband.

A short distance later, they arrived at Neal's "house". As soon as the car came to a stop, Neal jumped out of the car, no doubt to go and speak to Mozzie about how to find Keller. But Neal stopped, and turned to face Peter.

"Bye, Peter. Thanks for the ride."

"Night, Neal. I will call you if I find anything."

"Don't go looking, that's what he wants you to do." Neal warned.

He gave Peter one last glance before he turned and walked into the house.

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Neal was lying on the couch, with a wine glass in hand, reading a novel on famous paintings. He wore no shirt, and his lower half was covered by red linen pants. He had wanted to speak to Mozzie, about the possible whereabouts of Keller, but the little man had not shown.

Sitting in the dimly lit room, Neal allowed his thoughts to wander to the days events. The ring. Why had he given it up? Kate meant the world to him, and part of him wondered if he would ever let her go.

Neal was jolted out of his thoughts by the ringing of the phone on the side table. Neal grabbed it, hoping for news.

"Hello, Peter? What did you find?" Neal asked, and anxiously waited for a reply.

"No, Caffery, it's Diana." Diana asked. Her voice sounded weary, and scared.

"Diana? What's wrong?" Neal asked, getting up from the couch, the worry evident in his voice. He rarely heard anything besides confidence and sarcasm in Diana's tone.

"What are you doing?" Her voice cracked.

"Diana, cut the crap. What is wrong?" Neal asked, the panic rising in his tone.

"Look, Neal something's happened. It's Peter." Diana spit out finally.

"He went looking for Keller didn't he?" Neal's voice rose with every word. "God Damn it, I told him not to. Put him on the line."

"Neal I am so sorry. Peter's gone"

Haunted by the echo of the words Diana spoke, Neal collapsed onto the couch. He ran his fingers through his chocolate coloured hair. He wanted to run, and scream, and throw something as hard as he could. But all he could do was stare off into the distance.

Neal felt numb. He felt his ears ringing. He barely heard Diana asking if he was okay, because the phone had slipped from his hand. He did not know what to think. Tears threatened to leak from his eyes.

Not knowing what else to do, Neal sank to his knees, giving way to the tears that he had so desperately been holding back to preserve his pride.

Not again.

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Questions? Comments? Concerns? Thoughts? Ideas? Revelations? Riveting Epiphanies? Cries of outrage? Tissue boxes? Numbers for good therapists? GIVE ME ANYTHING!

What can I do for you?

XOXO Roxanne


	2. Chapter 2

All right all you readers! Here is Chapter 2. This one is going to still be rated T. Thank you for all the good response to the story!

To shialuvr222: Thank you for being my first reviewer, and the kind message!

To Ronni: Thank you for the nice response! Yes it is good, despite the fact that I killed Peter…

To Kimberly S: Yes, unfortunately Peter is dead. Forgive me for not being clear, but I hope that it makes sense now!

To morgo7kc: I am glad you were surprised, and liked it!

Thank you to all my "alerters" as well!

Song lyrics again:

_Are you haunted by the echo of your mother on the phone  
Crying as she tells you that your brother is not coming home?  
And if there's anyone that still has pride and the memory of those that died defending the old red, white, and blue,  
This is country music and we do. _

Some lyrics that also inspired me were: Fix You by Coldplay

_And the tears come streaming down your face  
When you lose something you can't replace  
When you love someone, but it goes to waste  
Could it be worse?_

********WARNING MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH! NOT YOUR THING, DO NOT READ!** *******

Enjoy!

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June found the poor broken man, lying on the wooden floor passed out from the previous night. June knew something was up, because Neal's face did not have it's usual confidence and charm. Whatever it was, it must have been terrible, because Neal's usually indomitable persona had been stained with the tears that left tracks on his perfect face.

Lying flat on his back, Neal wore no shirt, and had a good size cut running down the front of his chest from where his skin had caught on side of the table. His face was tearstained and his usually neat hair was a wreck.

June went and sat herself down beside him, and carefully taking his hand. The sudden touch caused Neal to jerk awake.

"Shh, Neal. It's okay. Just go back to sleep." She smoothed his hair, and offered a comforting smile.

Neal sat up. "It's okay, I should probably be getting up anyways. Peter will be picking me up…" His voice faltered. Last night's events crashed down on him, causing his throat to close, and tears to spring to his eyes.

June noticed his deep blue eyes become cloudy, and said quietly, "Why don't you tell me what happened."

Neal swiped at his eyes. "Peter's dead, June. Keller got to him." His voice was shaky. He draped his arms across his knees, and turned to take in June's expression.

The older woman was shocked. Tears filled her eyes, as she reminisced on the man that was Peter.

The phone rang, and Neal moved to pick it up.

"Hello?" Neal asked, his voice still shaky. He cleared his throat and waited for a response.

"Neal?" A voice on the other end questioned. The voice was sweet and soft.

"Elizabeth." Neal concluded.

"How are you, Neal?" Elle asked, concerned.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Neal said.

Despite the situation Elizabeth gave a small laugh. "I'm going to be alright, Neal, I am. Why don't you come over so you won't be alone? Hughes said that you should take a few days off."

"I'll be right over Elizabeth." He hung up the phone.

June's eyes carefully watched him, with a tearful expression.

"That was Elizabeth. She wants me to come over."

"Go dear. She needs you." June said in a motherly tone.

Neal bent down to give the older woman a hug. "Thanks June. For everything."

She waved her hand, "Of course." She moved to get up, and walked out of the door, giving Neal some time to get dressed.

Only then did he notice the red bloodied line on the front of his bare chest. He walked into the tiny bathroom, and took a cloth and cleaned himself up. He decided it would be best to shower, and he hopped in. The warm water made him feel a bit better, and took away the pounding headache that had been forming in his head. He let the water wash all of the tears away, giving him a fresh start. He wrapped a towel around his lower half and walked out of the bathroom, and into the closet.

He donned a gray sweater, a pair of dress slacks; pair of dress shoes, and of course his signature fedora. He ran a brush through his messy hair, and placed the black fedora atop his curls.

Grabbing his jacket and phone, he walked out the door without looking back.

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Neal decided that he would walk to Peter's because it was a short distance away. The sky overhead was blue and cheery, completely contrasting with the current situation.

Neal's thought wandered while he walked. The previous night's events made his thoughts dark and sad.

_It shouldn't be like this. Peter's dead, and never coming back. He's gone, Neal. It should have been you, Neal. He's got Elle and Satchmo, who love him. What have you got? Kate's gone too. Mozzie and Alex could take off at any second. Damn it, why'd he have to go looking? Keller had cost him his life. _

Tears threatened to spill over, and Neal let one single solitary one go. He was halfway to Elizabeth's house and he had to be strong for her.

It was the only choice he had.

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Questions? Comments? Concerns? Thoughts? Ideas? Revelations? Riveting Epiphanies? Cries of outrage? Tissue boxes? Numbers for good therapists? Suggestions for upcoming chapters? Life questions? WHAT EVERY IT IS, STICK IT IN THE REVIEW BOX! GIVE ME ANYTHING!

How can I make this story better?

XOXO Roxanne.


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